Extrasolar - Frequently Asked Questions

Warning: You are about to leave the fiction and breach the 4th wall. This is the support page for Extrasolar, where you'll find our FAQ, forums, and other information that may be important to you. There may be spoilers, so proceed at your own risk.

If your question isn't answered here or if you want to report a bug, check out the forums. If you can't get an answer there, feel free to contact us directly by sending an email to extrasolar-support@lazy8studios.com

General:

Q: Can I play?
A: Yes.
Q: When I applied to the program, I got a message saying no more rovers were available. What's up with that?
A: Monitor your inbox for a sketchy-looking email from kryptex81. That's from us too.
Q: Is Extrasolar an ARG?
A: Yes and no. While Extrasolar takes many ideas from traditional ARGs (Alternate Reality Games), Extrasolar is more an individual experience. Extrasolar does not require you to ever go to sources outside of those presented within the game in order to advance the story.
Q: What browsers do you support?
A: We do most of our testing on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari so we strongly recommend using one of those browsers.
Q: Can I play on my mobile phone?
A: Yes. While the formatting is not ideal, the game should be playable from touch devices. If you encounter any problems, please report them in our forums or via extrasolar-support@lazy8studios.com. We are planning on releasing a better formatted mobile version in the future.
Q: Is this a real planet?
A: Epsilon Eridani is a real star and Epsilon Eridani b is a real known extrasolar planet. Within the fiction of the game, we're claiming that Epsilon Eridani e (which we often refer to as Epsilon Prime) is an earth-sized planet orbiting the same star.
Q: Where do these photos come from?
A: When you tell your rover where to go, those coordinates are uploaded to a computer on the Internet that has a digital representation of the island where the story is playing out. Based on the location, direction, and time of day that you selected, we render a high-resolution image for your viewing pleasure. This means that every photo is unique! The clouds, time of day, moons, and a few more things on the planet are constantly changing.
Q: Is there a special page with more info for the media?
A: Yes. We have a special press page for your convenience.

Upgrading / Payments:

Q: What is the difference between the "Artocos Island" and "Elevated Status" purchase options?
We originally wanted Extrasolar to be a 3-part adventure. What you can experience now is season 1. The Artocos Island missions take most people about one months to complete, though we've had ambitious players finish the main story content in less than a week. We originally created the XRI Pioneer tier to allow players to pre-pay for seasons 2 and 3. Sadly, Extrasolar has been a financial failure and our Kickstarter to fund season 2 didn't meet its goal. I consider it a beautiful art project that I pay to maintain. Buying into the top tier will show a status badge in your private profile and let you schedule one additional photo per session. But mostly, it helps allow this project to exist. If you love Extrasolar, please consider supporting us as an XRI Pioneer.
Q: If I buy only the Artocos Island mission, can I upgrade later?
A: Yes. In fact, if you purchase on the Web, we take a portion of your initial purchase and apply it as a discount if you ever choose to upgrade.
Q: What is Stripe?
A: We use Stripe to process credit card payments. (https://stripe.com). They are used by thousands of companies, highlighted on this page: https://stripe.com/gallery.
Q: How is my card information secured and transmitted?
A: When you enter your credit card information into the web page and click the Send Payment button, the card information is sent via secure, encrypted connection directly from your web browser to Stripe, our servers never see your credit card information. Stripe then generates a random number (a 'token') that they give back to us. That number contains none of your card information, it is just a unique code essentially. We then use that token to ask Stripe to charge your card and complete the purchase.
Q: If I choose to save my payment information, is it stored by Stripe or Lazy 8?
A: Stripe. We do not save or have access to your complete card information.
Q: Which company should I contact if any payment issues arise?
A: If any issues arise, you can email extrasolar-support@lazy8studios.com and we can issue refunds or similar actions. You can also always raise any concerns you have with the bank or organization who issued your card.
Q: Can I upgrade using PayPal, Amazon Payments, or some other provider?
A: To see if there's a demand for this, we're handling PayPal requests by hand. Just follow the instructions here.

Information for Parents

Q: Can I play with my kids?
A: We take science seriously and hope to inspire a generation of young scientists, but there are a few reasons why we make you check a box that says you're 13 or older..
- Immersion: Extrasolar is a game. However, it's quite different from other games and there may be times when you're not sure where the game ends and reality begins. Extrasolar is not self-contained and you may, at times, find yourself linking from domains within the game to websites that we don't control.
- Themes: There is no violence in Extrasolar, but some of the themes have a mature nature. For instance, the story may refer to violent events and may simulate engaging in illegal behavior.
- Language: I believe we use the word "dammit" in a couple of places, but that's as bad as it gets.
- Legal: Due to COPPA (The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) in the United States, it's our understanding that any website that collects email addresses for users must limit access to children under the age of 13. It should be noted that Extrasolar also creates a public profile page that lists the participant's first name and last initial. We hope to eventually meet COPPA requirements, but for now, we're being extra cautious.